Posted on 01/09/2008 8:45:04 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
CORPUS CHRISTI — The District Attorney’s Office opposes a motion for Mauricio Celis to regain his passport, saying he is a flight risk.
Celis, 36, is out on bail, indicted in November on four charges, including perjury and falsely holding himself out as a lawyer. He surrendered his passport as a condition of bail, though his attorneys say he needs it to travel to Mexico to aid his defense.
Celis said in a statement that he doesn’t need the passport to go to Mexico, but to return to the United States. The State Department requires passports to return by air, but not by land or sea. New rules go into effect Jan. 31 requiring a driver’s license and proof of citizenship to return by land or sea.
“My kids were born here, my wife and parents are Americans, and Corpus Christi is my home and it’s where I will clear my name in a court of law,” he said.
Celis’ attorneys asked for the passport in a confidential letter Dec. 5 to visiting judge Mark Luitjen, who denied the request. District Attorney Carlos Valdez has criticized the confidential letter as a breach of ethics.
Celis’ attorneys then filed a motion and asked that a hearing be held by telephone. The Caller-Times has asked the court to hold the hearing in public. No hearing has been set.
The letter also says several witnesses in Mexico will not talk to attorneys until Celis tells them personally that he wants them to.
“His presence at these meetings is necessary to assure that the communication is accurate and that there are no miscommunications due to language barriers,” attorney Jo Ellen Hewins wrote. “At least one of the persons we need to interview in Mexico has led us to believe that he has been approached and offered money to give information regarding Mr. Celis. This must be followed up on right away.”
Celis was born in Mexico, and his law firm, CGT Law Group International, operated branches in Mexico City and Chihuahua. He lists two different places of birth — Tampico and Monclova, Mexico — on an alcoholic beverage license application and a military record filed in court Tuesday with District Attorney Carlos Valdez’s response to the passport request.
Celis said Wednesday the military document contained a mistake.
“When I signed up at the age of 17 to join the United States Navy, I gave my recruiter documentation showing that I was born prematurely in Monclova where my mother was visiting relatives,” Celis said. “She later registered my birth back home in Tampico.”
The alcoholic beverage application states Celis is a U.S. citizen and entered the country in 1981, when he was almost 10.
Valdez also asked Luitjen to order Celis to surrender any Mexican passport he might have.
Celis, a prominent Democratic donor, also faces several civil lawsuits. Those include an effort by Frost Bank to collect a $380,000 loan, an effort to recoup legal fees by a woman who says Celis represented her as an attorney, and claims by the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee of the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Attorney General’s Office that Celis and CGT Law Group improperly shared legal fees.
DA's office feels Celis is flight risk
Officials are fighting CC man's ability to regain his passport
Of course he’s a flight risk.
He is a definite threat to those in high politcal office in Texas and would run to save his skin.
I’ve never heard of someone who lists two places of birth on official government documents. The two places aren’t even in the same state in Mexico.
I’m sorry, but that - Monclova Coahuila Mexico - means nothing to me. Should it?
Windows word, LOL
Not really, but this really helps destroy any credibility Celis had left. His excuse was rather lame plus the video says his mother didn't record the birth till 3 years later.
1/14/2008 Suspected Money Launderer Donated to . . . Filed under: 2008 Election, Dog Trainer — Patterico @ 6:14 pmhttp://patterico.com/2008/01/14/suspected-money-launderer-donated-to/
And here's a real moon bat blog.
Monday, January 14, 2008 CELIS: THE WITCHHUNT BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY:THE BLOCKBUSTER ARTICLE HITTING SOUTH TEXAS LIKE A TSUNAMI!!http://eldefenzor.blogspot.com/2008/01/blockbuster-article-hitting-south-texas.html
I love no.2 ... If a democrat fund raiser is caught in a criminal operation, that’s a Republican plot. LOL. Karl Rove, you magnificent bastard!
This is the Clinton’s kind of guy.
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